Kite
by walkingwithgiants
Summary: In the words of Janis Joplin, "Don't compromise yourself. You're all you've got." Bella learns the hard way. M if this becomes a chapter story. AU.


I should be asleep right now because I have work in exactly... 7 hours but I was suddenly motivated to finish this story. I listened to Copeland's "Kite" on my way home and ahhhh. Like magic. I'm not sure yet if this is just a one-shot or what because I'm a total flake and don't post often enough but I'm feeling this. I'm unfortunately familiar with what I'm writing about but whatevvvv (in the words of my friend). I hope you enjoy and please review if you do, to at least get me through my long work day tomorrow. Thanks guys!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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She had been warned about people like him.

Her small town parents had done an excellent job shielding her from characters that were less than bright and rounded but they were not there to uphold their force field that night. Sitting at a table surrounded by her closest friends, it was almost like a magnet drew her eyes towards the door and onto the long, sinewy figure in the dark. She could remember holding her breath and absorbing the very essence of the shadow emerging into the bar. His dark jeans and shirt were miraculous on him. It was only when she finally took a deep breath and allowed her weak eyes to settle on his face and hair did she know she was done for. His beautiful, cupid-like mouth and dark, unruly haired framed a face that could only be described as encompassing all the angelic and beautiful things in the world.

The dark knight, as she thought to herself, was only a few feet away from her now as she continued to ingest his body. She swore she sucked in a breath as her eyes darted across his left arm and the skin pale skin wrapped in dark images down to the elbow. It was in that instant that the heat her eyes burned into his body finally settled in to register for him, and he caught her scrutinizing gaze.

Her own possible Apollo.

She had thrown her life lessons out the door as he sauntered over to her, the typical smirk she would grow accustomed to, spreading across his perfect face. His bright green eyes flickered with life and interest. There was no way she would have known how that night would effect the remainder of her life.

It had been easy to fall in love with him, afterall, she had never really known what it was like to care for anyone besides her family and close friends. He had been so _nice_ that she immediately took him in and the rest just became history. He was different from her typical friends, with his crazed bronze hair and multitude of tattoos spread across his fit frame. He would take her to Slim's to see bands she had never heard of and loved, and go eat food from places she could vaguely remember learning about in school. She thought that _this_ was it for her.

Within months, she had slowly moved into his apartment and began to see her friends and family less and less. Time seeped from her fingers, between work and her dark knight, her life was slowly manipulated into an entity that failed to belong to her solely anymore but rather to _them_. Those months of new love were the highlight of her existence she thought, making it easier for her to push away all the other constants that used to be in her life.

Then came the day that changed her completely. She had left work earlier than normal and headed to the apartment that they now shared after stopping to pick up dinner as a take-out. As soon as she had unlocked the door and taken a few steps inside, she spotted the high heels thrown across the floor. High heels that were two sizes too small to belong to her. Her heart beat furiously against her chest, threatening to stop from exertion as the adrenaline flowed through her veins. She tried not to assume anything. She tried to push away the disgusting feeling of bile trying to inch its way back up her chest. She tried her best to control herself and her imagination as she walked through their apartment towards the bedroom. In the end, nothing she had tried could change the scene she walked in on. The vision of her beloved black knight in bed with a small raven-haired girl was etched into her brain for good.

She couldn't even scream, the lump of mixed emotions stuck in her chest while she stood in the doorway staring at the man and woman in front of her, defiling _her_ bed. That's when he turned to towards the door with his mouth full of tender flesh, and those bright green eyes that she loved, went wide. Those eyes pulled her from her haze to completely take in the betrayal in front of her and the lump in her chest passed.

She growled from a place so deep within herself that she didn't know was possible and and although she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, she failed. She wanted to scream at him, "_You shit eating prick!" _Never one for violence, she found herself picking up the nearest object to her, a candleholder, and threw it as hard as she could towards the bed. She wanted to erupt in well-earned rage, her face turning bright red with emotion. She wanted to tell him that he was a son of a bitch, but she couldn't. She wanted to ask him how he could do this to her, but she didn't. In horror, she only stood there absorbing the coldness that flowed through her veins making her numb.

He had dodged the candleholder, throwing his hands into the air in submission. "_Bella."_

Bella couldn't even whisper his name, her body void of any feeling besides her furious heart fluttering. Doing the only thing that came to mind, she turned on her heel and walked back out of what used to be their apartment. She could hear him yelling at her, chanting her name like a prayer, "Bella, Bella." Even her ears lost their use and every noise turned into a steady hum that could not be distinguishable. Her legs moved faster than she was used to, taking her with a mind of their own far away from the place she had once cherished so much.

The numb feeling was fleeting quickly and the harsh reality of what had occurred began to overwhelm her every sense. Bella began to recognize her surroundings and the place that her legs had carried her to, to escape her crumbling world. Standing outside of the large house, her mind flashed images of her dark knight on their bed and the sobs that had been at bay began to make their way through her. She couldn't help choking as the tears spilled fat and painful down her face, her body suddenly loosing the vital oxygen that kept her alive, and she shuddered. The door suddenly swung open as if they had a mind of their own, and her beautiful blonde friend stood in the way with a shocked look on her face.

"_What did Edward do_?" Rosalie whispered, abruptly throwing her arms around her sobbing frame.

Bella shook and sobbed from deep within the cavities of her chest, gasping for air. She had no words for her emotions and leaned on her friend, with her arms wrapped tightly around the blonde as if her life force depended on her to exist. The next few days and weeks passed with little change while she stayed with Rosalie. Bella would wake up in tears, after nightmares continued to replay the scene of her loved one betraying her even in her slumber. The day would be spent in bed, crying and feeling like her essence had been stolen from her, and she would convince herself over and over again that she had not been enough for her dark knight. At night she would cry herself to sleep thinking of the wonderful things she once had with him, her Edward. The way his crooked grin would immediately make her smile. She would think of his rumpled hair in the morning sticking to his face. These thoughts made her sick.

The only contact she had with the outside world were the calls that Rosalie intercepted, her parents checking in on her and wondering why her phone was turned off and calls forwarded, and Emmett. The rest of the friends she had, had receded into the shadows and the past that was her life before she met him.

She was skin and bones with nothing left inside to hold her together.

Weeks or maybe months later, she had gotten up earlier than usual to overhear Rosalie on the phone in the kitchen. "He said what to you?... I swear to God, I would cut off his dick with a butter knife and then mutilate his balls with a my shearing scissors if I ever saw him in person again... I can't believe that little bitch... She still cries herself to sleep every night. It kills me that I can't help her, that I can't make her stop hurting over that worthless piece of shit... I hope he finds her getting fucked in the ass by a girl with a strap on before their wedding..."

_Their wedding_.

The cold ache that had once consumed her body swept through her again quickly at the realization that her Edward was getting married to someone else. _How long had it been?_ She asked herself over and over again. _Had he really moved on that fast?_ While she withered away in pity, he had not once stopped in his own life's pursuit. Not once had he ever come to Rosalie's to apologize for what happened. Not once.

She felt another sob tear through her but this sob was an angry one. A sob for the time that had been stolen away from her by pining over a man that she craved and loved but had clearly not cared enough to even apologize to her for ruining a part of her life; a part of her life she would never get back. Rosalie appeared before her, a look of concern across her beautiful face. "I'm sorry Bella."

She huffed and nodded, unable to cry anymore. Her shoulders shook and a dry choke escaped from her throat, suddenly making her feel dehydrated. Rosalie guided her into the kitchen and filled a glass of water for her, her blue eyes narrowing. Bella chugged the water down and sighed. They stood in silence until Bella spoke up, "I just can't believe it, Rose."

"I can't either, Bee. I was going to tell you but I just couldn't bear to do it just yet." Her blue eyes were apologetic and immediately made Bella feel terrible for putting her closest friend through her emotional turmoil.

"I... I understand. I just..." she shrugged. "I gave him _everything_. I don't feel whole anymore."

Rosalie stepped forward and embraced her tightly. "I know." Her hands grazed across her back, making her suddenly try to think of when she showered last. "You're going to be okay though, I promise."

Hours later, after eating breakfast with Rosalie in silence and shooting apologetic glances at each other, Bella decided it was time for a shower. She couldn't remember clearly when was the last time she had bathed but after running her hands through her hair, she could tell it had been awhile. She stood in front of the mirror, peeling off her clothes and inspecting the body that stopped being enough for Edward Masen. In only her underwear and bra, her eyes scanned the very pale and unhealthy skin she had developed while incubating inside Rosalie's house for so long. Her under eyes were dark and purple, clear signs of the nonstop crying that she had gone through. Her normally mahogany hair was dull and full of knots. It was only in that moment that she remembered her job, the job she had completely forgotten about for god knows how long but for some reason, she didn't care.

She was too pale and skinny now and her eyes screamed of exhaustion but she rolled her shoulders and felt her resolve to continue on with her life finally crawl through her.

Bella was exhausted and done with the tears. As she showered, she used the sponge so roughly that it barely registered to her that she was trying to cleanse her body of not just dirt but of the last few weeks. That feeling in the pit of her stomach was finally gone and in its place, she felt something different.

At twenty-four years old, she knew she had to live her life.

After her thorough cleansing, she felt refreshed and was surprised to see that her entire wardrobe was packed away neatly in the closet of the room she had been staying in, only temporarily reminding her of the man she loved. It scared her to think that she couldn't even remember where she had gotten the clothes she wore when she had showered and changed in the past, because she had never gone as far as to open the closet in her haze. She quickly decided that today was the day she was going to start to move on and after dressing, she opted to head out of the house for the first time in seven weeks, according to Rosalie. Her friend presented her with her cell phone again and a promising smile. "You're going to be okay."

"I know." Bella nodded and grasped the small device. "I'm going to buy a new phone and change my number today. Then I can go from there looking for another job."

Blonde curls bounced in approval and a relieved sigh. "Go get 'em tiger. Your car is outside."

Bella sighed and reached to give her friend another hug. "Thank you for keeping me together," she whispered against her hair.

"Anytime."

She pulled back and waved at Rosalie, stepping out of the house and closing the door behind her into the bright sun. Slipping into her car, Bella pushed away the thoughts she had of a certain man and rolled her shoulders trying to relax as she drove away from her new home. Her trip to the cellular store was faster than she remembered, but as she got out of the car a warm breeze blew past her and she exhaled releasing her tension.

Bella stepped into store and quickly signed in on the screens by the entrance. She looked around the busy store and headed towards a section of phones only to be suddenly blocked by a very tall figure stepping in front of her out of nowhere.

Feeling her presence so close by, the tall figure turned around to look at her and Bella was surprised by the intense light blue eyes that sparkled in her direction. "I'm sorry, ma'am."

"Don't worry about it," she said, her eyes trailing across the longish wavy blond hair that framed a stunning face.

Bella didn't even have to force the smile that crept across her face as she looked at the handsome man, standing less than a foot away from her. In that moment, she believed in Rosalie's words, that she really would be okay someday.


End file.
